I read quite a lot of stuff – magazines, books, blogs, newspapers, news websites – but the best literary companion is always a book that I can stuff in my bag and carry around with me wherever I go. A book helps to fill the gaps between waiting for buses and trains and the lonely rides. Being engrossed in a book also makes the journey seem a little shorter and faster. And really, there’s an immeasurable joy in letting your mind and imagination take flight in a good book. So here are my fave reads for 2008:
At Large and At Small – Anne Fadiman
This book is a collection of familiar essays by Fadiman, a genre of writing that her father, writer Clifton Fadiman, lamented “dead”. In her charming, witty, and succinct writing, Fadiman brings back this genre which she says is a subset of the personal essay, autobiographical but also giving the reader more information about the subject matter in a broader sense of the world.
In her essays, we learn about how ice cream is made and bringing it back to herself, she relates how ice cream played a big part in her childhood. Another essay takes us back to her childhood days of catching and preserving butterflies with her brother and we learn how this is done as an art form.
Another recommended read is Fadiman’s first book, Ex Libris which is a must-read for all book lovers as she waxes lyrical about her love for books.
Seabiscuit – Laura Hillenbrand
I have this thing for horses; I love them. That grace and power they exude when galloping is such a sight to behold. So I couldn’t help but love this book which is a biography of what is considered the greatest race horse in American history – Seabiscuit. How could you not love a horse with a name like that?
Everyone loves underdog stories and this book tells of the true story of two underdogs – one animal and one man – who found success together as two athletes who overcame great difficulties and injuries of their own to win the biggest race in the country, giving hope to a nation that was beset by the Great Depression. Seabiscuit became the biggest American celebrity in 1938 and this well-researched book brings us back to the exciting and sometimes cruel world of American horse racing.
The Soul of a Chef – Michael Ruhlman
Get an insider’s point of view into the world of professional cooking as Michael Ruhlman susses out three top chefs in America – Bryan Polcyn, Michael Symon and Thomas Keller – and find out what makes them, and their businesses, tick.
The Reach of a Chef – Michael Ruhlman
Ruhlman explores the rise of the celebrity chef in yet another delicious book that promises to seduce with the descriptions of food, sushi knife-sharp writing and delectable prose.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals – Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan’s writing is a little more intellectual and this reads more like an academic dissertation, but I like the ideas he presents about how we should be more conscious about the origin of the food we eat. Where does the food chain begin? Where are Americans’ eating habits leading them in terms of environmental damage, economic wealth and health concerns?
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto – Michael Pollan
Pollan’s next book follows the same lines and talks about how we, in particular Americans, should change the way we eat. He argues that people need to relearn the way they eat, to moderate appetites, learn what is real food so as to get optimal nutrition and health from what we consume.
When You’re Engulfed in Flames – David Sedaris
If you like dark humour as I do, David Sedaris’s books are a must-read. His most recent book is another gem where he satirises everyday life. You can always hear him delivering the lines in his book in a deadpan manner which would probably make you pause say think, ‘Hey, I think that was supposed to be funny. Yeah. Haha.’
Emily of New Moon series – L.M. Montgomery
I finally finished the Emily of New Moon series this year and I love the protagonist whom we grow up with in the three books. The feisty 11-year-old who has a love for books and writing is a rather precocious child who grows up to be an independent, strong-willed and passionate woman who is ahead of her time in the time the story is set. Montgomery sets her delightful characters against the charming and gorgeous backdrop of Prince Edward Island in Canada and readers are led back to a time where the world was more innocent.
The Fourth Bear – Jasper Fforde
Jasper Fforde’s irreverent humour and use of well-known literary characters in his plots are absolutely delightful. To appreciate the humour in his writing, you’ll need to be someone familiar with the fairy tales and classics from authors such as Charlotte Bronte and Oscar Wilde. The imaginative plots in his books are a fun, intelligent and witty read. In The Fourth Bear, a woman with long blonde hair, people nickname her Goldilocks, has gone missing and the evil Gingerbreadman is on the loose, and it’s up to the Nursery Crime Division in Reading, England, to solve these crimes…